CVE-2025-38682: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-w6pp-p9r9-cvm4
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-415
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-38682 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-415: Double Free) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product calls free() twice on the same memory address.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2025-38682 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-38682
GHSA Identifier GHSA-w6pp-p9r9-cvm4
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-415: Double Free
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2025-38682

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2025-38682, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-415: Double Free, where the product calls free() twice on the same memory address. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: i2c: core: Fix double-free of fwnode in i2c_unregister_device() Before commit df6d7277e552 ("i2c: core: Do not dereference fwnode in struct device"), i2c_unregister_device() only called fwnode_handle_put() on of_node-s in the form of calling of_node_put(client->dev.of_node). But after this commit the i2c_client's fwnode now unconditionally gets fwnode_handle_put() on it. When the i2c_client has no primary (ACPI / OF) fwnode but it does have a software fwnode, the software-node will be the primary node and fwnode_handle_put() will put() it. But for the software fwnode device_remove_software_node() will also put() it leading to a double free: [ 82.665598] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 82.665609] refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. [ 82.665808] WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 1502 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0xba/0x11 ... [ 82.666830] RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0xba/0x110 ... [ 82.666962] <TASK> [ 82.666971] i2c_unregister_device+0x60/0x90 Fix this by not calling fwnode_handle_put() when the primary fwnode is a software-node.

References

NVD — CVE-2025-38682 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38682
git.kernel.org/stable/c/1c24e5fc0c... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1c24e5fc0c7096e00c202a6a3e0c342c1afb47c2
git.kernel.org/stable/c/ffe02f7c4e... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ffe02f7c4e36090154646612e67d331832f92037

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-38682?
CVE-2025-38682 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-415: Double Free.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2025-38682?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-38682?
CVE-2025-38682 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-38682?
CVE-2025-38682 is classified under CWE-415: Double Free (The product calls free() twice on the same memory address.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2025-38682?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
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  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-w6pp-p9r9-cvm4",
  "modified" : "2025-11-26T00:30:16Z",
  "published" : "2025-09-05T18:31:15Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-38682" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\ni2c: core: Fix double-free of fwnode in i2c_unregister_device()\n\nBefore commit df6d7277e552 (\"i2c: core: Do not dereference fwnode in struct\ndevice\"), i2c_unregister_device() only called fwnode_handle_put() on\nof_node-s in the form of calling of_node_put(client->dev.of_node).\n\nBut after this commit the i2c_client's fwnode now unconditionally gets\nfwnode_handle_put() on it.\n\nWhen the i2c_client has no primary (ACPI / OF) fwnode but it does have\na software fwnode, the software-node will be the primary node and\nfwnode_handle_put() will put() it.\n\nBut for the software fwnode device_remove_software_node() will also put()\nit leading to a double free:\n\n[   82.665598] ------------[ cut here ]------------\n[   82.665609] refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free.\n[   82.665808] WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 1502 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0xba/0x11\n...\n[   82.666830] RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0xba/0x110\n...\n[   82.666962]  <TASK>\n[   82.666971]  i2c_unregister_device+0x60/0x90\n\nFix this by not calling fwnode_handle_put() when the primary fwnode is\na software-node.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38682"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1c24e5fc0c7096e00c202a6a3e0c342c1afb47c2"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ffe02f7c4e36090154646612e67d331832f92037"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-415" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-09-04T16:15:35Z"
  }
}